This very small house in South Berkeley just sold. I remodelled it and added a small additon back in 2012. The realtor, ABIO Properties, and photographer Peter Lyons generously shared their photos with me.

I was very proud of the solution I came up with on a very tight budget to add a second bedroom in existing space and a big living room at the back This way the bedrooms both were close to the bathroom and the living area at the back got a great connection to the garden.

Berkeley Craftsman managed to skillfully execute the design within the budget.

OLD FLOOR PLAN

NEW FLOOR PLAN

I was also excited about the subtle art deco stucco details.

I didn’t invent this stucco window detail. I copied it from a few 1920s houses in Berkeley, but I was quite pleased with its enhancement of what was a very plain front façade. The window sill is clear cedar stained dark.

We did something similar at the back around the 8′ wide glass doors One simple detail goes a long way on a small house

I thought I’d shared a couple more photos of a recent remodel project. This Berkeley house was built with no way to get to the backyard except through the house or from the neighbor’s driveway. We decided to add a pair of dutch carriage doors on the back side of the garage so that there would be a direct connection from front yard & driveway to back. The owners will probably use the garage as a room, rather than a garage, but the design allows for a variety of interpretations (In this mild climate we don’t really need heat to make a room into living space 3/4 of the year or more) The existing concrete slab was polished smooth and shiny for a practical upgrade.

The most important component of this project was rearranging things to make the most of various spaces in a small house. There had been several strange additions over the years that made for a lot of wasted space.

Looking east in this spacious new kitchen with fir cabinets, vaulted ceiling, corner windows, LED lights,

We added about 65 SF and way more storage. The old kitchen was actually a hallway with constant traffic flow through the work area. Now traffic stays away from the main work area.

Kitchen before addition and remodel

1) New closets in the master bedroom 2) More efficient laundry room by moving one door and adding shelves and counter 3) Water heater moved to exterior and utility room converted to pantry 4) Kitchen expanded to keep the traffic out of the work area 5) Easy attic storage created

I was very happy to see this recent project full of people enjoying the newly connected living spaces and yard. The owners also built several nice cabinets and shelving themselves. These are just phone snapshots of the space…..and yes it does look like they might need a new couch at some point. Turned out great! (Thanks Berkeley Craftsman)

These are just snapshots – client is not fully moved in – but they are very happy with the remodel, as am I. (Thanks Berkeley Craftsmen) The basic idea was to add a bedroom and improve the street presence. In addition to adding a bedroom we gained a small parlor or office and relocated the main living space to the back with a nice connection to the garden.

I took this photo a while back when I installed my blue powdercoated steel Ikea cart in its spot. I was very excited because it was a perfect fit and made use of an underutilized space in my kitchen. It was also very affordable. You can also see my nifty reuse of sailboat rigging (cleat, block, and line) to make an adjustable countertop. The diamond cabinet is also from Ikea but the drawer faces were custom made by me out of fir plywood and white paint. The coordinated geometric pattern dish towel was also from Ikea, but hand dyed with tea, coffee, and beets to get rid of the bright white background. The mini wedgewood range is at least 50 years old and works great with style.